The Yak, The Turtle, and the Boar
by LoudCloud
Summary: "Maybe THAT would make an interesting song for the people back home..." An incident that occurred in the aftermath of battle, during Kai and Oogway's glory days.
_The nameless characters in this fic are mostly vessels for the audience to see through; to explore the perspective of someone living 500 years ago during the time of Oogway's youth and Kai's notoriety. They're what I like to call 'audience characters' really. This takes place during the hazy glory days of Kai and Oogway, long ago._

* * *

One of the trio, a boar who was, in all words, average, shuffled further under the cart. He had seen this very cart carrying their General earlier; a snow leopard who by all accounts should've had fair ground in his natural territory...but he'd been cut down soon after the battle began. His cart his this rock face, allowing them some shelter, some cover. A few more breaths of life.

The second in the trio, a crocodile that was trembling head to foot with a swollen eye, hadn't the nerves to budge further than that. He glanced at his companions, horror overtaking whatever warrior teachings had led him here. Several of the enemy troops stomped past them, and they ducked their heads. The fabric covering the cart was thinner than a table-cloth, it seemed. Any moment their luck would run out.

The last of their trio, a female goose – just a servant, a cup-bearer; handed out medicinal tea now and again. There was a shred of grim acceptance in her eye, one the boar did not want to see. They had to remain strong. When they were found, they'd spit in the eye of the enemy, and demand they be executed by the terrors themselves.

The cheers erupted back into the air. Someone had stridden into the midst of the troops, the heroes of the day – the boar knew who it had to be. The crocodile ground his teeth in terror as he reached forward and drew the cloth hiding them back, just a centimetre.

And there they were.

A foreign turtle adorned in simple armour but a steady expression, a mighty spear clutched in elongated fingers. Strange. This was Oogway, the mysterious, he who took down hundreds in battle and no one knew how...? As agile and quick as a whip.

And a yak, bigger than any of his kind that the three had ever seen – _massive -_ with his weapon slung casually over his shoulder, a smirk upon his face, a thick mane travelling down his back. His armour was stained with red but it didn't faze him. He raised a fist, going along with his soldier's cheers, clearly revelling in the victory as much as they did. The turtle was gazing around the remains of the battle-field, calm and inquisitive.

The boar moved back, pulling the cloth ever-so further over the cart like a curtain. The goose was shaking; now, the crocodile had frozen in some kind of awe-filled shock.

The two that had instigated their demise, their defeat, that had beaten them without even trying.

It was jarring, to see legends in the flesh.

The boar glanced at his companions, stony-faced. Then, they heard a voice – loud, thick, and they knew it had to be Kai himself.

Maker of Widows.

Beast of Vengeance.

They would die painfully if they fought, and the boar intended to fight. He hoped the crocodile, for his sake, would be put out of his misery quickly. Perhaps, if Oogway was present, the servant would be spared.

Or perhaps, he could attack, now, and they could both escape.

He glanced over the crocodile. Too injured. He could barely see with that eye.

"Search for survivors! Make sure our friend _Tong Kang_ we still mean business." There was a boisterous, almost friendly note to the yak's voice, like he was jesting. Like it was a sport. His men whooped, beating their weapons into the air, though others remained as well-disciplined as the turtle. The boar lifted a finger to his lips, gesturing for his companions to remain quiet, and shuffled closer to the cloth hiding them.

They were outright searching now. Better if he was seen first. His heart was beating. This was not how he'd wished to die, huddled and corned like a weakling, but he had no choice.

His eyes latched onto Kai and Oogway, the two striding further into the pass, in the middle of the bustle. They were setting up stations, it seemed, keeping this as a occupied point. It was an advantage, this area...

If he could...

No, that wouldn't work.

The turtle adjusted his spear, and by that the boar meant he twirled it over his shoulder, as if to comically (and deliberately) mimic his partner. Kai sent him a disgruntled look. The boar scowled, smirking mirthlessly. So it was true. Brothers in arms. He'd be killed by an army led by a pair of saps. The fact that would be his demise, at the hands of two snowflake buddies a brushed him the wrong way...

...

"Ya see, my tactic worked."

"It was a good tactic, but my tactic would have been better."

"Oogway."

"There would have been far more banners, for one thing."

"Seriously." Kai raised a knife to scratch at the underside of his chin, wearing a deadpan expression. The turtle shrugged, striding forward with an ever-lidded gaze.

"Indeed. Now, I'd like to camp, sit, and have some noodles. We've been travelling all day."

"Oooh, really, not to mention the giant battle that just occurred." Kai drawled, sitting down on a half-buried mountain rock just there, stabbing his weapon into the frost-coated soil. What was left of the other army, and those that hadn't retreated, were being disposed of. Oogway surveyed the site, the soldiers setting up their banners and rummaging through remains of the previous housing army's battlements. His smile had faded. "Hmm."

Kai say his look and blew out a breath through the corner of his mouth. "They had a fair fight. Whatever idiotic idea sent them in here's to blame for the carnage."

"Hmm. A victory's a victory, I do not feel pity for our enemy." Oogway's easy smile returned, slowly, "Though one of the reasons I despites his innards is his wish to _waste_."

"Yeah, it was a pretty crude plan he had here. Toss people at us until we go away." Kai huffed, smirking lightly. Oogway rolled his eyes, unable to stop himself from smiling, too. The image of their feared foe tossing people at them was too prominent in his head...

Speaking of heads, he'd tipped his to the left a little.

And saw a cloth move.

No, an torn banner, strung over a fallen wagon. The general's, if he wasn't mistaken. Kai had taken him down in a few swipes.

No, something had moved. The turtle squinted.

"I'll see what the men have stored up," Kai was saying, getting to his feet with a stretch of the arm, "After tonight we'll...Oogway?"

He watched, brow arching as his friend gestured once to him with his spear, facing away; a silent motion to keep quiet. He began moving towards a broken-down cart, a straight line. The yak began following him, eyes narrowing, soldiers peering over curiously.

Oogway stopped just in front of it, staring with an unbreakable gaze at the cloth covering most of the debris. Then, he extended his spear and slowly pushed it to one side.

 _"YAH!"_

A blur of brown, pink and green, and the boar that leaped out from the wreckage had been caught by the tusk, slammed face-first into the floor, his arm pinned to the small of his back and kept down by the casual turtle's foot.

"Hello." Oogway said, pleasantly, to the boar, who was huffing viciously into the dirt.

Kai's foot landed directly beside his nose, and the boar froze. One eye dragged itself up to stare at the looming figure. The General had a heinous expression of smugness on his face, and most would run in terror. But the turtle simply rolled his eyes like the murderous look was just a little quirk.

"Well, isn't this cute." Kai knelt down, a hoof gripping the boar's tusk and tugging it painfully, "Thought a surprise attack would work? Sorry, friend."

The boar jerked his head away, "I'm no friend of yours, _beast."_ The smile faltered, subtly, on the yak's face, "No more of your games! End it like a man!"

Kai's sour look turned to Oogway. The turtle's brows were raised, as if her were contemplating. The bull snorted, "You know the way of war, brother."

"Let him battle." The turtle said, suddenly. "He seems to have as much of a fighting spirit as you. If he wishes for a better end..." He glanced down, at the boar, who was eyeing him with a mixture of hatred and suspicion, "Do not deny him."

Kai's lip curled. " _Certainly_ , brother." He stepped back, and Oogway stepped off. Kai strode back a tad, calling out to one of his men, "Give the short fry a weapon! Let's see what the best of that army can do!"

There wasn't much respect to be found on the faces of the other men. One tossed a spear to the one-eyed boar and he caught it without flinching, before he'd even gotten to both legs. Spitting to one side and wiping his chin, he took his stance.

Kai had to admit, it was an impressive feat. He was actually kind of glad to have a challenge, a foe with a face, not just brainless solider trying to nip at his heels. This would be a fight, not a battle. How he'd missed the simplicity of that.

He opened his arms, quirking a brow in a rather friendly-looking manner, allowing him the first move.

"Do you have a name?" Oogway called, cheerily, from the sidelines. The boar's ear twitched. He wasn't used to the antics of such a strange turtle.

"...Bolin. Now let me kill this cow already."

That was the wrong thing to say.

The very wrong thing to say.

For weeks on end the soldiers would never quite know what happened, how fast, or how sore. All they knew was that one moment the warlord's face had frozen in shock, one eye twitching, and then the next the boar was soaring backwards off the end of his horns.

He landed with a crash a good few meters away, wood splinters flying up around him like confetti. He was up almost at once, evading the next vicious attack the bull aimed at him – Kai was vicious and his hits were unrelenting, strong, harsh, enough to make most people's legs buckle. He couldn't possibly match him in strength.

Parry, parry, crack –

Their spears met, one blow after another, Kai swept an arm over the boar's head and he ducked, kicking off a boulder nearby and sweeping overhead, aiming a kick at the yak's head. Kai caught his ankle and re-directed his fall, sending the boar spiralling back through the air. But, he managed to flip himself around and hit the ground on his feet, dirt skidding beneath him.

Kai was angry, but he managed a curt laugh, "Not bad. Guess I underestimated you a little."

At the sidelines, Oogway was watching, eyes narrow. Bolin made the next move, dart forward with a rippling battle-cry. Kai's lip quirked up and –

A loud crack rang out through the air as he kicked the boar clean in the chin, sending him barrelling back across the dirt. The soldiers slid out of the way as he crashed back into the very cart that had been shielding him.

Kai didn't stall for fun this time, he strode up and seized his foe by the neck, wrenching him off the debris and hoisting him into the air. The boar's hand raised to grip at his wrist, painfully, glaring through his grimace. Nerves of steel, Kai would give him that at least.

"Y-YAH!"

He threw out a fist and blocked the tail.

A crocodile had appeared, slivering out of the rubble and attacking, swollen eye and all. The bore's face split into a small, victorious grin. He would die valiantly after all, it seemed. He broke free of the beast yak's grip and kicked off his shoulder, landing beside the crocodile.

"Come, we die like warriors."

The crocodile's chest heaved; he looked to the older soldier, one eye broadening, the other still blackened. He swallowed, nodded, and the two tore towards the Maker of Windows with a unifying battle cry.

Kai smirked, and lunged.

His elbow struck against the crocodile's snout, his other arm's fists was blocked by the boar; they both landed, huffed, and went for him again on either side. Oogway moved closer, brow furrowed, interest taken up to its peak.

The crocodile snatched up a broken board and cracked it over Kai's head. It didn't do much; the helmet protected him, but the shower of splinters obscured his vision enough to save him from the next swipe of the spear.

Again, the two were hit and sent sprawling back. But, in all accounts, they were lasting longer than most, and the army watching with whoops and bets couldn't ignore it.

"Cute." Kai stood up to his full height, watching as the boar dragged his crocodile comrade to his feet. "You're all honour and pride, aren't you? Weird, coming from someone following Tong Kang."

The boar flexed out his hands. "Do not try to know me, and I'll refrain from knowing you, _Beast_."

Kai's eyes narrowed. Well this was _fun._

But alas, all good things must end. Now that he was tiring of their little game, the battle went a little more mandatory. They put up a good fight, the Boar and the Crocodile, each technically only using one eye. Hmm. Maybe _that_ would make an amusing song for the people back home.

The inevitable came. The boar was coming at him; the crocodile could barely keep up and was an inch away from keeling over. Kai readied himself, hoofs curling. Just one last straw to break the back.

He waited until the boar had brought down his spear upon him, heaving it towards his head with all his might...and the yak turned just a little so it missed by an inch, slicing past his hair. From then on, it was like the world had slipped into slow motion. He saw the boar's eye widen, almost pop out of his skull, and he grinned. His fist flew out and hit him directly under the chin.

When the boar hit the ground, he did not get back up. The crocodile watched him fall with a torn look, one arm strung over his shoulder and jaw hanging open.

Kai drew his arm across his face. "Hm. It was fun while it lasted."

The crocodile's back quivered, scales almost shimmering. Then his face contorted and he charged again, barely keeping upright, his war cry more of a screech – and Kai lifted his spear, almost bored. Now this guy was just some faceless idiot. No need to give him a running chance, well, not more than he'd already been given.

"Wait!"

For a moment, Kai was sure that it was Oogway that had spoken, but no. There was a goose, a tiny little goose, standing between him, her body sprawled over the fallen boar. The crocodile had stopped in his tracks, shaking, the loss of energy and blood almost dragging him to the floor. Kai snorted.

"Whatever begging you're about to do...make it quick." He jabbed the goose once on the beak, and she practically hit the floor, one wing raised.

"Please – I ask for mercy for these two. I am a servant, and they tried to save me. They deserve a more honourable death than – than a slaughter."

Kai's smirk, though faint, grew throughout the whole tirade, as if he were genuinely amused. "Really?"

Oogway approached, slowly. His eyes were on the boar. "Such a valiant warrior, wasted on Tong Kang." He remarked. He bent down, and closed the empty eyelids. The goose only then seemed to realise that he was truly lost, and bent her head. The crocodile was in an even worse state, and Oogway had to wonder if they'd known each other.

A pity.

He looked at Kai, expression unreadable to all else. The yak turned, slowly, and snatched the crocodile up by the snout. His shriek of terror was muffled by the move, and the general jerked him closer, voice low,

"Take the servant and deliver a message to Tong Kang for us. Tell him what happened here, what you saw."

The crocodile blinked. Kai tossed him overhead, forwards, in the direction the rest of the army had fled. The present army watched, looks scathing, as the reptile threw one last look over his shoulder. The goose scuttled after him, not even staying to thank either of them for her life.

How rude.

The reptile's eyes fell on the fallen boar, before he screwed them shut and darted off. Eventually, they lost sight of the two.

Oogway turned his head. "We should bury him."

"If you want. Though he couldn't have been that valiant if he fought for a drain of scum like Tong." Kai nudged his friend lightly on the shoulder. "I gave him a fair fight."

Oogway lifted a brow, lightly, "I know you did, brother. I don't feel any bitterness at that. The only one I blame is our enemy." He smiled, faintly, and moved towards the body.

The mist grew thick over the pass, and whatever became of the crocodile or goose, the two famed warlords would never know or really recall.


End file.
